Hi everyone, bit of an emotional post as bit upset as im writing it.
I have had Pablo for a year, he is 20 and I got him as a confidence giver after I broke my back that is what I like to ride
Now the past couple of times Ive been riding him he has started the following behaviour pattern...
He stops and then is hard to walk on, when he has stopped he then seems to have it in his head to want to turn around constantly to go home. Normally I battle with him asking him with voice and implusion (not kicking) to get him to move forward and then I turn him around and let him walk back when I say so, now the past couple of times he has been okay but today I was reduced to tears and feeling like I never want to get on him again.
You must remember I broke my back and was told I may end up paralised.
Today he stopped and then tried turning around, this is as soon as he gets out away from his field from his friends who are calling for him the entire time which doesnt help, then he stars reversing i stopped that, then he tries turning around and i use legs and hand aids to block him from turning around, then he started backin up into the hedge then shooting forwards, then he was jogging with his head down ready to take the bit when I decided thats enough Im scared now and Im getting off, so I got off and I walked him down the road towards home talking to him, then turned him away from home again took a few steps away then a few steps back but then hs head shot up as if he saw something turned and bolted home without me up a road where there are cars!
Im now scared of getting on. I dont want to get hurt again, he is meant to be bombproof and I am worried that I have caused the problem somehow.
Now his owner told me he doesnt need a firm hand but he does need to have someone confident, which I thought I was, she told me a story where she brought someone up tp say hello and the moment she turned her back he stamped at them to make them jump and she said you could see he was laughing
This horse was broken in in argentina where they tie them up in the desert for days and then basicly make them ride back with them when they go back to get them or they stay there are starve for longer.
Can he be taking the pee out of me or is it purely a confidence thing? He learns once he gets away with something once he does it again.
I was giving him a bath and he decided he had enough and I had the dually on and he managed to bolt away from me with the dually on! Ever since that he knows to run away as soon as he doesnt like something, why not I guess he is do what he wants to do, good for him but not good for me.
What do I do with a nappy horse please help x
Amber,
Take a nice walk without your horse and make sure you look at a lot of things both close up and far away. You may start to feel tired but keep walking until you feel your energy come back and your spirits lift. This will help the upset subside for you. Have hope-this can be handled :)
Now, if you don't have a copy of From My Hands to Yours, buy one right away. There's a whole section in there about what to do to handle barn sour/buddy sour horses. I recommend you do a series of J-U's with him, do some practice sessions leading with the Dually so he really is soft and willing to walk with you and respect the halter. Then do the steps recommended in the book to handle your buddy sour situation. I would recommend additionally that you do those things from the ground before you attempt to do them mounted. And don't get back on him until you are confident that you have his respect! I can't emphasize that enough, especially since you have to be careful about your back. You do ride with a helmet, I hope?
The bath thing is a separate issue, but stems from the fact that he isn't respecting you as a leader. By the way, on introducing bathing, start by NOT tying the horse. Introduce the water stream to him by running the hose on one front hoof first and slowly working your way up the legs. It may take a few times before you can get him fully wet enough to wash and rinse, but you as his human need to go at his pace and let him get used to it if he's uncomfortable. After all, you are asking him to do something he'd never do on his own :).
If you can successfully get the J-U's done with him and get him listening to the Dually, you will have earned back his respect. And don't be afraid to seek a pro in your area for help with the procedures outlined if you don't feel you can manage them on your own. Show the trainer what you want done and the two of you can work together. That would boost your confidence back up as well.
Good luck and let us know how you do.
Best,
Julie
Hi Amber,
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Have you watched the Walter Wont Go Forward series? This series deals with a nappy horse. Monty Roberts uses a pacifier mask with tape on it and a giddy up rope to encourage the horse to go forward.
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The other place to search for an answer to your situation is page 194 to 196 of From My Hands to Yours by Monty Roberts. On these pages he talks about Barn-Sour Syndrome and Separation Anxiety.
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Basically he says to never ride your horse home. Ride almost home, turn him around, ride in the opposite direction until the horse has settled, then hop off, rub his forehead, loosen the girth, stand for a bit and walk home. Each time you do this, dismount at a different spot.
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The other thing Monty Roberts suggests in the book is to ride or take the horse to another barn and leave him there over night I assume. Ride him back to your place, and then back to the other place. I think the purpose of this is so that the horse realises that his barn is not the only place that's good to be in - there could be another one at the end of this ride...
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All that aside, it is very scary when a horse behaves like this, and safety must come above all else. You should probably get someone you know and trust to give you a helping hand to implement Monty's strategies.
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As for the horse being bombproof, at the end of the day he is still a horse and horses behave as horses do :-) One of the worst accidents I had as a child was from a "bombproof" horse! I think what makes this kind of thing worse is that you don't expect a bombproof horse to act like this and the fact is that sometimes they do for whatever reason. But, its OK because you will be able to work through it :-)
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Can he be taking the pee out of you? Not sure about that one. I wonder if they do that too at times... One of my mares tries to bluff me into thinking that she wont do certain things and my friend Liz calls it a "dog" act. My friend's theory is that horses learn if they do certain things, we back off which gives them rest - a positive reward.
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Also, what are you feeding him? If he is eating a rich feed high in energy (eg. grain, alf alfa, pony pellets, work horse mix, a diet high in protien etc) without getting enough work, he will find it hard to behave because he will have too much energy to burn...
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Sorry about writing novel here, but I really hope this post finds you feeling better :-)
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Kind regards,
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Gen
Hi Amber!
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I think all these things mentioned are really important: Join-Up, Dually Halter, From My Hands To Yours, how to ride and feed your horse.
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But I think the most important point is safety for you: Do never ride without a helmet, take a safetey cage for your back and do not ride alone.
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Maybe your horse is afraid of being on a trip without other horses. I would advise you to make trips with another horse and a friend riding on him. Your horse seems not to remember that he is not alone, you are with him! So do Join-Up and do not ride alone until he is not confident with being ridden with a horse buddy next to his side. After that I would ride him while being led by somebody walking next to you. If he is okay with that you should go and try out alone.
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And do not forget safety!
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Hope that helps you!
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Kind regards,
Jasmin
Amber
You have been given some great advise. I particularly like the advise about a helmet and chest/back protection. The vests that are made for bull riders would be my recommendation. The protection is the best and given you have already suffered a broken back you don't want to endanger your self. I also agree with Gen that there is no such thing as a bomb proof horse. But if you do quality join ups and don't take any guff from him he will begin to trust you. One thing that helps when a horse starts acting up is to back them up as fast as they will go for about 5 or 6 steps then walk them in a circle. If they start acting up after that just do it again. There is no violence with this method, but you are telling the horse in no uncertain terms that you are the boss.
If you watch Monty, every time the horse misbehaves Monty backs him a few steps then brings them forward.
Don't give up on your self. Knowing that you have a problem and trying to find a way to deal with it shows me that you want to go forward and re-establish your trust in your horse. Just keep telling your self that you are the boss and are willing to do the hard work.
Please let everyone know how it is going for you. Be Safe
Cheers
Hi Amber,
So many good posts for you, still I'd like to add mine.
It's now almost 12 years since I broke my back in a riding-accident, had a fracture of the L2 vertabra, an 8 hours surgery, a long rehab-period and one year of no riding.
The most important thing for me when I started riding again, was to re-find my "centre", my "seat" so to speak. I felt I lost my balance and had to work on that. This is so important to the horse, it'll feel lost if the rider doesn't give him the security he needs from the saddle.
I was lucky to have read already "Centered Riding" by Sally Swift, who had severe back problems as well, which caused her to search for a better way to ride for herself. So her book and a very patient mare gave me confidence again to continue my journey with horses.
There are moments, when hacking out, that I dismount for safety-reasons, but I know Monty Roberts and Sally Swift gave me the tools to deepen my trust in horses and myself,too.
I hope this helps you,
Miriam
Thanks for all your replies, since this has happened I have starting riding with another person, I advertised some free riding and got a call from a girl called Lucy and its great I was a bit worried to start with letting a stranger come up and ride my horse but its worked out well. My nappy horse that is fine in company, I am hoping getting him used to going out and knowing he is looked after and brought home will help him overcome his unwillingness to go away from the herd. I am going on the Monty Roberts Preliminary Certificate course with Laira gold and I think this will help loads, will come back and do lots of work with him etc.
I always wear my riding hat, I never ride without it and I also wear a body protector and a back support, I have never ridden without one since the accident even on a nice quiet hack/ride on a calm horse but thank you for your concerns, I really like the idea of the bull riders vest! Sounds awesome!
Miriam how awful to have to have surgery on your back that was unfortunate I broke L1 and managed to get away with physio and bed rest, I hope your back is okay now, I recommened the pro lite back support when its hurting its really good feels like you have someone hugging your back and taking away the pain.
Amber x
Hi Amber,
So it sounds we were both fortunate in our accidents!
As I wrote, my surgery lies 12 years behind me, I ride and am an Advanced student of Monty's. Of course I have to be carefull, but excercising and being aware of my limits is what keeps me strong. For me warmth does the job, so after hard work I lay down with heat under my back, relax and find relief. In the long run I think riding and working with horses is what keeps me healthy, because that's what I love to do!
Good luck with your nappy horse, please try to see this as a challange from which you and your horse can learn and become closer.
Miriam
HI everyone, i have a broken c2 hangmans fracture was in bed for a year and dreamt of horses. I know own two and the one has bolted with me one him and i fell off and more recently bucked me off. Like the lady above he started playing up on the ground and seems to know that i dont have the strength or stamina to keep on and on to persist and he wins when i am exhausted and give in. He is very green and 11 years old so i do think he is a little too experienced for me. My other pony is a rescue from a sanctuary but been on loan and very experienced. She is only 13.3hh but i am small and i feel safer that the fall is not so high. I am gaining confidence hacking out with a friend but she is nappy on her own and doesn't want to venture far just planting and not backing up or anything. I am re reading monty's books and will try all the advice her. But good luck and i do believe that you will go when you are meant to go as i shouldnt have survived my two falls as my totally broken in half c2 didnt heal!...Good luck
Hi
I also broke my back (L2)in the middle of June and I’m still having the corset. I hope to be able to ride again. I can understand the fear of amber. I think the problems are three.
1. The horse does not consider her as somebody to follow, she is not the leading element.
2. The horse has more pleasure staying with the herd
3. The horse feels the anxiety
In order to exclude the anxiety, I would work from the ground with a dually or rope halter, in a fenced area close to the herd, doing exercise like following, backing up, standing still. Frequent changes if the horse's attention is not with you. If all works very well and the horse follows you, you could work on the pleasure aspect. Take him out and go for a walk with many stops for grazing.
I sometimes use a little trick. I through a piece of carrot in the grass (the horse should not see it)and lead his attention to the point. Like that the food does not come from my hand, but I'm the one who is good in finding delicious food.